Time Flies...

So...I've still been running, but obviously not blogging. Below are the Cliff's Notes for the past couple of months.

April: Trained for the Colfax 1/2. Wasn't sure if I'd make my "dream" time of 1:45:00 here, but decided I'd give it all I had on race day and wait and see what would happen.

May: Ran the Colfax 1/2 on May 17. Finished in 1:53:xx. Per mile I shaved off 37 seconds from my last half in March. I was very excited by that. It gave me a lot of confidence for my next marathon training cycle. The 1:45:xx goal is still out there, but just on hold for the time being.

Also did a couple of shorter races - Mother's Day Mile and the Girls on the Run 5K. Both were great - as I got to celebrate my sport with all sorts of other runners and great people!

June/July: Began training for my second marathon. I'll be running the Little Grand Canyon Marathon in Huntington UT on September 12. Should be an interesting course as it meanders through a canyon on a dirt road. Can't wait!

This time around I decided to switch from a traditional 7 day cycle to a 10 day cycle. I have found that I need more time to recover and cross train so my body will hold up under increased mileage. The only caveat I'm finding with this method is that I tend to "over-do-it" on my rest and cross train days. Since my mileage is more spread out I feel like I'm slacking. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

My long runs have gone pretty well so far. I've done a 10, a 12, a 14, and a 17. My splits are a little fast and I know I need to slow it down if I want to make it to the starting line in September without injury.

Speaking of injury...I haven't run since last Tuesday because of it. My piriformis is flaring up again and creating pain all over my left leg - hip, knee, and ankle. I tried to ignore it, but it didn't go away. I haven't run in 6 days in order to let it "heal" but nothing's working. I'm headed to the chiropractor today - I hope he's a miracle worker!

Assuming all goes well and I'm "cured" today I'm not sure what to do about my training. Bret is on vacation this week from work and we have plans to get out and raft, fish, and backpack. I planned all of this activity in to my training plan, but I didn't plan the past six days off. So now I've taken 6 days off and will maybe run one or two times in the next week. Two weeks off in the middle of marathon training - not good. I don't know if I should jump right back in to where I was supposed to be or if I should reassess? I don't want to do too much too soon and end up in this boat again! I guess I'll play it by ear - I really want to break 4 hours in this marathon. I know I can finish it, but now I'm doubting I'll get the time I want with this break in training.

We'll see what the doc. has to say and go from there.